AFFORDABLE HOUSING DRAFT - Salisbury, CT

More documents

Recommendations

Info

The fourth section, “Organization,” discusses the requirements for a successor organization tothis committee and a fund to support its mission. It includes two draft ordinances.The final section, “Finance,” describes four ways that Salisbury property owners can help providehousing. It provides a guide to Federal and State financing sources and forms of municipal financingwe think Salisbury should explore.We have attempted to anticipate the questions the reader will have about affordable housing.Appendix II contains answers to 22 such questions.B. Recommendations [Terms used in the recommendations below are explained fully in the reportchapters]Our Committee recommends that the people of Salisbury:• Create affordable housing by using existing buildings wherever possible rather thanconstructing new ones. As large a fraction as possible of the proposed 200 units should not requirethe construction of new buildings.• Create affordable housing through purchase of existing houses, where appropriate, andconversion of larger houses into multi-unit homes.• Support the creation of accessory apartments. We should consider offering incentives forowners to create affordable accessory apartments (such as lowering sewer connection fees ormaintaining prior tax assessments). The Town should fully participate in the newly establishedAccessory Apartment Program including joining with nearby communities in funding a programcoordinator as the Salisbury Board of Selectmen has offered to do for the Program’s first year. TheProgram’s how-to guide for homeowners on creating and renting accessory apartments should bemade available to all interested parties.• Facilitate creation of a home-share program in all locations.• Create, wherever feasible, new affordable housing in the village centers and on Town waterand sewer, rather than in the countryside.• Employ overlay Incentive Housing Zones (IHZs) as one tool to facilitate the construction ofaffordable housing within areas on Town water and sewer.• Develop senior housing and housing for the handicapped in or near village centers.• Encourage the Selectmen to assess Town land holdings and actively acquire and dispose ofland with a view towards providing appropriate sites for new affordable housing.8
• Favor attached, multi-unit housing over detached, single-family housing. Wherever morethan a few units are involved, we should employ cluster planning to help reduce costs and providebetter site planning.• Seek opportunities for joint ventures with nonprofit developers or with commercial intereststhat might provide a significant portion of the funding for the affordable housing component.• Plan intelligently by evaluating each site being considered in an individual way so as to bestdetermine the most appropriate owners (or renters), building type(s), and programs for each project.Planning intelligently should include openness and transparency to inform and educate our neighborsand other interested parties.• Avoid instituting rigid “design standards” that regulate tightly the appearance of affordablehousing. We should allow for design flexibility within the context of the neighborhood andcommunity. We should commit to instituting sustainable design and building practices.• Support the addition of new affordable housing units at Sarum Village, where the SalisburyHousing Committee has recently committed to adding a six-unit building.• Incorporate the goals, housing needs, and strategies outlined in this report in the Plan ofConservation and Development due in 2011.• Support the adoption of the following Phase One zoning regulation changes as soon aspossible:1. Add a new regulation permitting apartments over commercial buildings2. Add a new regulation permitting an existing residence to be converted to a multifamilyresidence of not more than three dwelling units without the present zoningrequirement that the minimum lot area be three times the minimum area required inthe zone (e.g. in a one-acre zone a three-unit conversion currently requires threeacres)3. Modify the existing Bed and Breakfast use regulation to permit one accessoryapartment that is non-transient in nature4. Expand the options and simplify the procedure for creation of accessory apartmentsthat have historically been a vital source of modest cost housing in rural communities5. Provide an amnesty period giving owners of existing accessory apartments createdwithout a zoning permit time to obtain Commission approval, free of threat of zoningviolation penalty9
Page 1 and 2: Preserving Salisbury’s Vitality:H
Page 3 and 4: Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION 4EXEC
Page 5 and 6: and retired business executives, te
Page 7: Executive SummaryA. FindingsSalisbu
Page 11 and 12: • Provide financing for the Salis
Page 13 and 14: People tend to have widely differin
Page 15 and 16: with incomes below $60,000. As a mo
Page 17 and 18: percent live outside Connecticut an
Page 19 and 20: number is achieved, the annual turn
Page 21 and 22: areas was increasing to the point w
Page 23 and 24: setbacks, and building envelopes th
Page 25 and 26: These two factors - diversity and c
Page 27 and 28: Exhibit 1: Index of Frequently Aske
Page 29 and 30: The Committee’s Work and Recommen
Page 31 and 32: Town houses, including row and cour
Page 33 and 34: Exhibit 2: Matrix of Incomes, Housi
Page 35 and 36: However, the likelihood of finding
Page 37 and 38: The Salisbury Tax Assessor’s offi
Page 39 and 40: 3. Modify the existing Bed and Brea
Page 41 and 42: • Because private citizens, devel
Page 43 and 44: Exhibit 3: Draft Ordinance to Estab
Page 45 and 46: Exhibit 4: Draft Ordinance to Estab
Page 47 and 48: IV. FinanceThe Affordable Housing A
Page 49 and 50: about what housing its neighbors ne
Page 51 and 52: That the Salisbury Affordable Housi
Page 53 and 54: District play in ensuring the Town
Page 55 and 56: 2. Q: What is the evidence that Sal
Page 57 and 58: older will almost triple from 751 i
Page 59 and 60:
Employer interviews. The authors of
Page 61 and 62:
details, please see the answer to Q
Page 63 and 64:
would be a cop-out to link the shor
Page 65 and 66:
of the school budget is provided fr
Page 67 and 68:
Starter (age 20-29) - 30 units spli
Page 69 and 70:
assessment, than privately construc
Page 71 and 72:
expanded exponentially. In fact, th
Page 73 and 74:
Appendix III: Sustainable Design Gu
Page 75 and 76:
Some other strategies that should b
Page 82 and 83:
Appendix V: Proposed Phase One Amen
Page 84 and 85:
transient visitors. This amendment
Page 86 and 87:
not a Special Permit application (a
Page 88 and 89:
designed to appear more like an acc
Page 90 and 91:
c. Revise subsection 718.3 to read:
Page 92 and 93:
Appendix VI: Cornwall, Connecticut
Page 94 and 95:
- Where the dwelling(s) are located
Page 96 and 97:
Appendix VIII: State and Federal Re
Page 98 and 99:
Small TownEconomicAssistance Progra
Page 100 and 101:
• single-room-occupancy• multif
Page 102 and 103:
Appendix IX: Statutory Sources of A
Page 104 and 105:
I. GENERAL MUNICIPAL POWERSA. Conne
Page 106 and 107:
A. Connecticut Statutory Provisions
Page 108 and 109:
special exception or subdivision pl
Page 110 and 111:
III. TAX:ABATEMENTS, DEFERRALS AND
Page 112 and 113:
eighty per cent of the area median
Page 114 and 115:
• CGS Section 12-124 - “Allows
Page 116 and 117:
V. MISCELLANEOUSA. Impact (Linkage)
show all

AFFORDABLE HOUSING DRAFT - Salisbury, CT

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?